Stablecoin infrastructure firm ZeroHash has applied for a national trust bank charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company seeks to offer digital asset custody, stablecoin management, and settlement services, joining a growing list of applicants including Morgan Stanley and World Liberty Trust Company. Separately, British fintech Revolut has filed for a full U.S. bank charter to offer checking, savings, and crypto services to American customers.
ZeroHash has applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. The application, as stated in its filing, is for a trust bank, not a traditional retail bank offering deposit accounts or FDIC insurance.
The firm seeks to provide a specialized suite of digital asset services including custody, custodial staking, and trade execution. “These include custody over digital assets, fiat currency, and other assets; custodial staking and validation activities; transfer agent services; trade execution; stablecoin management; and settlement, clearing, and escrow services,” the company wrote.
In January, the firm raised $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The OCC’s pipeline of digital asset licensing applications has grown significantly and now includes Morgan Stanley Digital Trust and the Trump family-affiliated World Liberty Trust Company.
In December, the OCC approved banking charters for Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity, and BitGo. There is no word yet on when a decision might be made regarding ZeroHash’s application.
Meanwhile, British fintech firm Revolut has separately applied for a U.S. banking charter. Unlike ZeroHash, Revolut seeks to operate as a full-service bank with checking and savings accounts.
“The United States is a key pillar of our global growth strategy,” Revolut said in a press release. The firm has expressed interest in offering crypto services and was recently selected to help the UK test stablecoins in a regulatory sandbox.
